Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Blizzard Shmizzard

Hi Knitters,Madison is in the grips of yet another blizzard today with a layer of ice already coating the roads. Every school district in southern Wisconsin is closed, including all Madison private schools but guess what lucky kids have school today? That's right, mine. My sad kids trudged through the blizzard to school today because the Madison public schools are open for business. I know people think Wisconsin is all farms but truthfully we are city people. Madison schools rarely shut down due to snow because they are city schools where most of the kids live in the neighborhood where the schools are located. If not they ride the bus a short distance. I was really wishing for a snow day with my kids. I am worse than they are.

The snowbank outside my front door is probably 3-4 feet at this point. This is the kind of snow I grew up with, mountains of snow.

I just pulled out my Alan Dart Yuletide Gnome from Simply Knitting's Bumper Book of Patterns. I have had a lot of people write me to ask where to get this book and I am sorry to say I have no idea. I kind of forgot about him. He looks at home out there.

I started this Noro Silk Garden striping scarf last night. I love it. What is it about that striping yarn that always gets me? There are tons of these scarves out in blogland right now. I am following brooklyn tweed's free pattern. Fun, fun. (Hey Renee, we make at least two of the Scott's Bakery gingerbread houses every year! It is the best kit ever.)

I finished these up yesterday. What a quick, fun project. These will be wrapped and under the tree for a certain someone.

Here is one more fun holiday tip for you. I am a nut for seasonal children's literature. More than a dozen years ago I was at a friend's house and she had a decorative sleigh that she filled with Christmas books. I loved this idea and began my own tradition for the seasons. I bought this antique box right after I first got married and with every season change I pull out collections of seasonal books and put them in this box. Even my older kids love this tradition. My winter collection of books has gotten so large over the years that I fill a few boxes around the house. I do this for winter/Christmas, fall/Halloween, spring/easter, and summer. It keeps the kids loving the books because it is like they are new again every year.

The lovely Stacie sent me this link for a mini-mitten pattern. This one is good because it gives instruction for different gauges of yarn. Thank you!

14 comments:

Sorry your kids had to plow through the snow. It is supposed to be near 70 here today & I hate it! It's just wrong for it to be so warm this near Christmas. Hopefully we are going to get a cold front starting tomorrow & it will be more normal again. I'm really into the miniatures right now.....doing sweaters, hats, mittens & stockings. Really cute advent calendar in the Garnet Hill catalog got me started.

Hi Dianne,When I email you it always comes back to me (?). Thanks for the mitten pattern.I love the snow and the winter, too. Guess what? My sister gave me that Garnet Hill knitted advent calendar for my birthday and it comes with vintage candy to put in each mitten or hat. The kids absolutely love it. I have it strung across my kitchen window by our old farm table. You should get one or knit one for your grandkids! It's a winner.susan

It sounds like the school system has their act together. Where I live, the school board will cancel school for the entire county even though it is just one high school and its feeder system that have icy or really snowy conditions. I wonder how much snow it would take for the school system to close schools though?

I am going to have to dig out my copy of the gnome pattern and make one. Did you see Alan Dart's witch for Halloween or the Noah's Ark patterns?

Blizzard schmizzard indeed! ugh! My kids had no school today - I was sad to skate off to work. I love that gnome - here is some karma, I literally JUST bookmarked this pattern over at ebay - crazy you'd have him up today. Great minds!

I have been reading your blog for a couple months now. Anyway, our family was driving through Madison yesterday, on a trek from Minneapolis to Erie, PA. Let's just say I was glad to get out of WI. The rest of the day was mostly rainy, as the temperatures hadn't dropped enough for it to freeze, thank God!

Anyway, I enjoy your creations and aspire to make them sometime in the near future.

Today, I just ordered the pattern for the GNOME, by Alan Dart, that you featured sitting in the snow. Simply Knitting Magazine from the U.K. is still publishing copies. The pattern is in a supplement called "Christmas Gifts Extra" The pattern is so popular that people are still requesting it since it's first release in 2005.

They charge L5.50 for those in the U.K., and the exchange rate for those in the U.S. is $11.25 as of today. They only take personal checks or postal orders. No debit/credit. The address to order it is:

Hi Susie! I missed this post earlier this week and love all the projects! But my favorite idea is the book box. I have a big collection of Christmas books--now I know what to do with them! I just need to find the perfect box!

And I'm finishing up another of the mice from the mobile in IBN--what a cute pattern! I can't wait for my kids to open their Christmas stockings. Addie is getting a dotty chicken, Gray is getting the three pigs set, and Caiden is getting three mice to go with the "Ralph S. Mouse" book. So much fun! I love that book more with each project. :)

My newest book! Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys

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